Safety valve



7 J. C. SULLIVAN SAFETY YALVE Filed April 11, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

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J. C. SULLIVAN Oct. 7 i924.

SAFETY VALVE Filed April 11. 1921 2 sheets-sham -4 r 36 ,g V

Patented Oct. 'Z, 1924.

UNITED E'S P A T ETN *QlFiFiIzCE JULIUS C. SULLIVAN, OETWARREN,PENNSYLVANIA.

Application filediApril "11, 1921.

which the .following is: aspecification;

My invention relates tosa'tety valves and particularly to safety valvesespecially designed tor usein conjunction witlrtank cars,

steamship tankers, or any such containers for; quantities of volatileliquid.

Storage and .sshipping' i tanks for volatile liquids-are frequently subjcted to high yinternal pressure due to the yolatilization -.ot', the lquid under varying{atmospheric cond1-. tion-s, and ll ISBSSQllt-ltlztllflt tlllS pressurehe relieved hefor-e reachinga-sufficient degree-torupture'or hurstithe tank. Also,-.when such tanks, .p articularly itank:qzars, are involved in" accidents, the vola'ti-lization; of the liquidis frequently rapid -with a. consequent rapid rise in the -.pressurewithin the tank. alt-is essentialatz such times that thegases-bepermitted to escape and at the same time-flames be prevented fromentering thetank, should the :gases {become ignited. Also, gasesLescapingit-rom such cars; are frequently ignited when the cars areadjacent-a locomotiveas frequently happens in switching :cars in therailroad yards and means should be provided to prevent the flamestromentering the tank.

The ohjectof my invention'is to -provide tlzSZLfBtYYiLlVG witlrmeanswhich will-permit escape of the gases after they have reached apredeterminedv pressure. rte furtherv and particularobjectot-myinvention is to provide a'deviee of; this character, which willpermit of the escaping of the gases. only after the same .shall havereached a predetermined popp ng pressure, .to the end that a cont1nuousor prolonged discharge of small-quan'tities o:t .;gas shall be avoided.vA furtherobj ect. of my invention .is to provide a device as mentionedin which the valve will quickly andsecurely close .as soon as-thepressureis reduced below the ,predetermined popping pressure. Afurtherob ect otmy invention is to, provide means .for qu cklyextlnguishing-any. flames asthe .valve is closed. .A turther object ofmyinvention istoprovi de a device .of the ,character mentioned which maybe readilyiadjnsted to operate under. the desired pressure. A'furtheuobject otmy invention isto provide. a device of the char- Serial'No. 460,222.

acter underconsidei ationiof such construction that the escaping gases,under-pressure, shall he directedto a central. vertical-axisabove'the-v-alve casing. A further object of my invention is to providea safety valveas mentioned of such construction that the .variouspartsand mechanismsshall present a minimum amount of obstruction to the Iescaping gases. Further objects of my invention are-to provide a'deviceas mentioned which will be of simple construction, which will notreadily .get out of order and in which the variouselements mayhe'readily adjustechrepaired or replaced. "Other objects will appearhereinafter.

lViththese objects in view my invention consistsgenerally in a'valvecasingand main valve in combination with. means for locking said valvein closed positionuntil the vapors have reachedapredetermined.pressure."My invention further consistsin a device as mentioned in combinationwith.means for initially actuating the locking mechanism means forautomatically extinguishing the flames should the escaping vapors becomeignited. More specifically, said flame eatinguishing means-comprises ashutter or shutters adapted toautomatically closesaidcasing'as'the valvecloses to exclude air from adjacentthe latter. Myinvention consists invarious details of construction and arrangements ofpartsall as will befully describedhereinat't-erand particularlypointed out in. the claims.

My invention will hemore readily under stood by reference to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in whichFig. 1 isa.sideelevation,.partiallyinsection, of asafetyvalve embodyingmy ,in-

vention, parts being shown .in. elevation, 'Fig. 2 is a top gplan Viewof the device, ;Fig.-3-is.abottomplanview, Fig. 4 is .a vertical sectionon {the .line 4-tof Fig 1, and, g Fig. 5 is-a transverse section onsubstant-ially the-1ine5?5 of Fig. 4:.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 indi cates the housing which comprisesa lower cylindrical intake chamber portion 2 and an upper dischargeportion 3. The exterior of the housing, intermediate the portions 1 and2, is threaded asat 4 for securing the device in position in the usualmanner, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The upper portion 3 is provided withmeans 5 for engagement with a wrench, for securing the device inposition, or removing the same. The portion 2 is provided with inletapertures 6 in its walls to facilitate the free passage of gases.

Between the chambers 2 and 3 is an annular valve seat 7. This ispreferably removable so that the same may be readily repaired orreplaced in case of wear. 8 indicates the valve which normally rests onthe seat 7. This is provided with a depending hollow stem 9 whichconstitutes a timing valve barrel as will appear hereinafter. The valve8 and valve seat 7 are preferably made of non-corrosive metal. Supportedwithin the chamber 2 by arms 10 is a sleeve 11 which serves as a guidefor the barrel 9.

12 indicates a bushing threaded into the upper end of the barrel 9, and13 indicates a lock nut for securing the same in adjusted position.Extending through the bushing 12 and barrel 9 is a valve stem 14terminating at its lower end in a squared head 15. The upper end of thestem 14 is threaded, and threaded thereon is a sleeve 16 held inadjusted position by a lock nut 17. The sleeve 16 carries a laterallyextending flange 18 at its upper end for a purpose hereinafterdescribed.

From the construction so far described, it is obvious that the valve 8issubjected to the pressure within the tank or reservoir, and as one ofthe primary objects of my invention is to prevent the valvefrompermitting escape of gases until the pressure has reached apredetermined popping. pres sure, means must be provided for normallylocking the valve on its seat. To this end, I provide a transversemember 19 at,

the bottom of the chamber 2 which rests upon the head 15 and normallyheld in depressed position by a pair of pivoted arms 20. The arms 20 arepivoted between the arms 10, as on pins 21, and carry at their lowerends anti-friction rollers 22 which engage the member 19. These arms arenormally pressed inwardly by springs 23 having seats 24 in the walls ofthe housings and seats 25 in the arms, as illustrated clearly in Fig. 4.The member 19 is vertically movable with the valve 8 and the ends ofsaid member and the housing are provided with co-operating guidingmeans. For this purpose, I provide the housing with vertically disposedribs 26 and notch the ends of the member 19, as at 27, to receive them.The

lower face of the member 19 is provided with a socket 28 to receivethehead 15 of the valve stem and to prevent the same from turning. Theupper face of the member 19 is formed with a fiat centrally disposedportion 29 upon which the rollers 22 normally rest, and outwardly anddownwardly curved portions 30 which constitute cam faces forco-operation with the rollers 22. I

As the arms 20 securely lock the valve in closedposition, means must beprovided for tripping or initially moving the locking mechanism abovedescribed, when the pres sure has reached the predetermined point, inorder to permit the valve to open. this end, a timing piston is arrangedwithin the barrel 9 and equipped with means for moving the rollers 22from the flat face or shoulder 29 of the member 19 on to the cam faces30. 31 indicates a sleeve freely slid-- able on the stem 14 andterminating in a conical lower end 32 which rests on the face 29 of themember 19 and which is normally engaged by the rollers 22. On the upperend of the sleeve 31 is formed the timing piston which comprises a cupwasher 33 and a packing expander ring 34, threaded upon the upper end of31. Interposed between the ring 34 and the bushing 12 is a spring 35. 31indicates a packing ring secured in a recess in the bottom of theportion 32 and surrounding the stem 14 to prevent the gases fromfollowing up the valve stem into the barrel 9. I

The operation of the portions of the device so far described is asfollows: Normally the parts are in the positions indicated in full linesin Fig. 4 of the drawing. It will be noted that at this time the.rollers 22 rest upon the fiat face or shoulder 29 of the member 19 whichprevents upward movement of the member 19 and therefore of the valve 8.When predetermined popping pressure has been reached the pressure of thegases on the timing piston 33-34 forces said valve upwardly against thetension of the spring 35. The upward movement of the timing pistonraises the conical portion 32 of the member 31, thereby forcing therollers 22 off of the shoulder 29 and on to the cam faces 30. Thepressure on the under face of the valve 8 then raises the valve, and thevalve in raising, lifts the member 19, the cam faces 30 thereof forcingthe arms 22 outwardly into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4.These arms, and the member 19, obviously limit the upward movement ofthe valve 8. It is obvious that the popping pressure may be regulated byadjustment of the bushing 12, thereby more or less compressing thespring As soon as the pressure is reduced below popping pressure, thesprings 23 force the arms 20 inwardly, thereby depressing the member 19and seating the \valve *3. The :=rolle1s1.=22, 'ritlingiupon theshould-er '29, again zlockithe valveiagainst operation until :thepopping pressure is again reached.

W'hen gases escaping Ifrom man i orifice rare ignited, ith-ei'clistancelof the vfl-ame from the orifice .is dependent upon 'theforce of the gases at the orifice; that is, if the gases-rare escapingslowly and without muchxpressure, they burn close to the orifice, but ifthe gases are being ejectedunder,greatipressure, consequently with greatvelocity, they burn only at a distance from the orifice where thevelocity becomes lessened. Itis-iobvi'ous therefore, that by permittingithe :gases to escape only at considerable pressure, and avoidingleakage of gas in small quantities, the likelihood of the gases adjacentthe valve becoming ignited is reduced to a minimum. To maintain theescaping gases concentrated and at the greatest velocity, I shape theportion 3 so that the escaping gases shall be directed to a centralvertical axis above the valve casing. To this end, the walls of theportion 3 converge inwardly as shown clearly in the several figures ofthe drawing, thereby serving as a nozzle for concentrating escapinggases into a vertical columnunder high pressure. However, when the valvecloses, the flame from ignited gases, may follow the gas to the valve,and one of the objects of my invention is to equip the device with meansfor extinguishing any such flames adjacent the valve. To this end, thedischarge opening or mouth of the portion 3 is provided with means forcutting off air from the valve, and this means preferably comprises ahinged or pivoted closure. As illustrated in the drawing, I haveprovided the device with a pair of closure members pivoted onsubstantially parallel axes. 36 indicate the closures which arepivotally mounted upon trunnions 37 supported in upwardly extending lugs38 on the housing 1. Each of the closures is provided with 2. dependingmember 39 which is notched to receive the flange 18. It is obvious thatthe member 16 moves upwardly with the valve 8, and with the constructionshown, opens closures 36, as shown in dotted lines lines in Fig. 4. Itwill be noted that when the closures 36 are opened, they are inclinedupwardly and inwardly, so as to assist the tapered end of the portion 3in directing the gases centrally above the casing. As the valve 8 dropsupon its seat, the flange 18, engaging the members 39, quickly closesthe mouth of the housing by means of the closures 36, thus extinguishingany flame that might have followed the gases to the valve as the latterclosed.

It will thus be seen that the device above described effectuallyprevents the contents of the container from being ignited from thedischarge of :the gases through the valve, First, the gases are onlydischarged when under considerable pressure,-s0 that should they becomeignited the flame will be maintained ataa safe: distance from the valve,and second, should theiflame follow theegas as the valve is 1 closed,the I closure -members 36 will quickly extinguish the flame.

While =Ihave described my invention for use iii-conjunction with tanksor reservoirs for volatile :liquids, it is obvious that the same maybeeffectually used as a safety valve for steam boilers, compressed airtanks, or in :anysituation where it is-essentlfllEtO provide a safetyvalve for relieving internal;pressure after a predetermined pressure hasbeen reached.

I claim 1. A device of the class described, comprising a housing, avalve therein, a cam surface and shoulder carried by said valve, apivoted arm on said housing, a roller on said arm normally engaging saidshoulder to lock the valve in closed position, and pressure actuatedmeans adapted to move said roller from said shoulder to said cam surfaceto unlock the valve, substantially as described.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in combination with a spring forcingsaid arm towards said shoulder as and for the purpose specified.

3. A device of the class described comprising a housing, a main valvetherein, a timing piston barrel carried by said main valve, a timingpiston therein, a shoulder and cam surface movable with said piston, apivoted arm provided with a roller normally engaging said shoulder forlocking the main Valve in closed position, and means carried by saidtiming piston for moving said roller from said shoulder to said camsurface, substan tially as described.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3, further characterized by a bushingthreaded into said timing piston barrel and a spring interposed betweensaid bushing and said timing piston, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, a housing, a main valve therein,a timing piston barrel carried by said main valve, a stem extendingthrough said barrel, a member carried by said stem and provided with ashoulder and cam face, a pivoted arm on the housing provided with aroller normally engaging said shoulder, a sleeve slidable on said stem,a timing piston on one end of said sleeve and within said barrel, andmeans on the opposite end of said sleeve for moving said roller fromsaid shoulder to said cam surface, substantially as described.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 in combination with a spring forcingsaid arm and roller towards said shoulder, substantially as described.

7. A device as set forth in claim 5 in combination with a bushingthreaded into said barrel and a spring interposed between said bushingand the timing piston, substantially as described.

8. A device of the class described, comprising a housing, a valve seatdividing said housing into inlet and discharge portions a main valvenormally resting on said seat, a timing piston barrel depending fromsaid valve, a stem extending through said barrel and projecting belowthe same, a transverse member carried by the lower end of said stem andprovided with a shoulder and cam surfaces, a pair of arms pivotallymounted within said housing, and provided with rollers engaging saidshoulder, a timing piston within'said barrel, means carried by thetiming piston for moving said rollers from said shoulder to said camsurfaces, springs forcing said arms towards said shoulders, a bushingthreaded into said barrel and a spring interposed between said bushingand said timing piston, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 1.

name to this specification in the JULIUS o. SULLIVAN. .Witnesses Rosn H.DAVIS, R. M. KREBS.

